BATON ROUGE- The East Baton Rouge Metro Council has unanimously approved a deal that will move the Sheriff's Office headquarters from its downtown location to a larger facility at Metro Airport.

Sheriff Sid Gautreaux called it a win-win for everyone.

Gautreaux said his staff will immediately begin making preparation for a move to the new 20,000-square-foot building, which used to house the state Department of Transportation and Development.

He tells The Advocate the building will require some minor renovations, such as painting and some electrical work. He expects the department to be completely moved into its new location within six months.

The city-parish doesn't pay anything to keep the sheriff's office in its current building, but it will start paying $160,000 per year to the airport for the new lease.